Karen Barham > Moore Barlow > Guildford, England > Lawyer Profile
Moore Barlow Offices
THE ORIEL
SYDENHAM ROAD
GUILDFORD
GU1 3SR
England
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Karen Barham
Work Department
Family
Position
Karen describes herself as a peacemaker and a deal broker. She joined Moore Barlow LLP (formerly Barlow Robbins LLP) in 2006 bringing considerable knowledge and experience as a family lawyer, having specialised in this area for over 35 years.
She practises exclusively as a mediator and parenting coordinator assisting couples and families when relationships break down. She grasps the issues quickly and has a high success rate. She is experienced in making arrangements for children and resolving financial aspects. Also qualified in Child Inclusive Mediation (CIM), she is qualified to meet separately with children and young people to ascertain their thoughts and views thereby giving them an opportunity to have a voice.
She has served on the boards of the Family Mediation Council and Resolution and continue to sit on Resolution’s Dispute Resolution Committee. In 2016 she was awarded the Resolution John Cornwell award ‘in recognition of outstanding work to support separating families’. In 2023 she was honoured to be awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from Surrey Law Society, having been its Family Lawyer of the Year in 2021.
Many families can be assisted to find solutions in out-of-court processes including mediation, collaborative law, early neutral evaluation, private FDRs, arbitration and parenting coordination. Accordingly, she pioneered The Surrey Initiative following which I was invited to join the Family Solutions Group and the Family Procedure Rule Committee Working Group tasked with strengthening non-court dispute resolution. She is delighted to have contributed to the change of the Family Procedure Rules of April 2024.
Personal
She is divorced with a son in his mid-twenties.
Leisure
Football is her big passion. She is involved in grassroots youth football as Child Welfare Officer at Milford Pumas Youth FC and follow QPR and England home and away.
Lawyer Rankings
South East > Private client > Family: Kent, Surrey, Sussex
(Hall of Fame)Moore Barlow leverages its network of offices across Richmond, Woking and Guildford. Its expertise spans financial disputes, often involving international assets, complex business structures and inherited wealth, and children matters. The group is noted for its standout focus on parental alienation, an area in which practice head Joanna Farrands is a key name. Karen Barham
is praised as ‘one of the best mediators in the country’, offering the one couple one lawyer model. Beverley Cullis advises clients on both domestic and international surrogacy agreements as part of the team’s modern families offering which also supports unmarried families.
London > Private client > Family: mediation
(Leading partners)The family team at Moore Barlow, headed by Joanna Farrands, ‘has dispute resolution in its DNA‘, with four mediators operating across London, Richmond, Woking, and Guildford. Karen Barham acts full time as a mediator and parenting coordinator, is praised for being ‘at the forefront of mediation’ for both finances and children work, and qualified to meet with children in child-inclusive mediation. Victoria Walker and Jan Galloway continue to be recommended for mediation matters, with Galloway additionally supporting clients as a divorce and separation coach.
Lawyer Rankings
- Family: Kent, Surrey, Sussex South East > Private client
- Hall of Fame South East > Private client > Family: Kent, Surrey, Sussex
Top Tier Firm Rankings
- Private client > Charities and not-for-profit
- Insurance > Clinical negligence: claimant
- Private client > Contentious trusts and probate
- Corporate and commercial > Corporate and commercial: Hampshire
- Employment > Employment: Kent, Surrey, Sussex
- Private client > Family: Hampshire
- Private client > Family: Kent, Surrey, Sussex
- Finance > Insolvency and corporate recovery
- Insurance > Personal injury: claimant
- Insurance > Professional negligence
Firm Rankings
- Private client > Agriculture and estates
- Dispute resolution > Commercial litigation: Hampshire
- Real estate > Commercial property: Hampshire
- Real estate > Commercial property: Kent, Surrey, Sussex
- Dispute resolution > Debt recovery
- Employment > Employment: Hampshire
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > IT and telecoms
- Private client > Personal tax, trusts and probate: Hampshire
- Private client > Personal tax, trusts and probate: Kent, Surrey, Sussex
- Real estate > Property litigation
- Dispute resolution > Commercial litigation: Kent, Surrey and Sussex
- Corporate and commercial > Corporate and commercial: Kent, Surrey, Sussex
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Intellectual property
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Sport
- Public sector > Public sector